Law, Courts and Politics

I.    Law

    A.    Some Definitions of Law (O.W. Holmes, Jr.)

    B.    Goals:   Making Life Predictable and Stable   

    C.    Functions and Effects

        1.    Establishing Rules of Behavior

        2.    Ameliorating Conflicts

        3.    Dispute Resolution

        4.    Protecting Individuals

        5.    Limiting Government

        6.    Legitimizing Government

        D.    Sources of Law

        1.    Legislatures (US Code)

        2.    Executives

        3.    Courts (Judicial Policy Making)

            a.  Statutory Interpretation (Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, 2006)

            b.  Judicial Review (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 2010)

        4.    Bureaucracies (Administrative Law:  Code of Federal Regulations)

        5.    Custom and Usage

    E.    Broad Types

        1.    Divine

        2.    Natural

        3.    Positive

II.    Judging in a Political Context

    A.    Court Demand for Compliance

    B.    Judicial Policy Making

    C.    Views of the Political Context

        1.     The Separationist/Traditionalist View

        2.     Legal Realism

        3.     Judicial Behavioralism

        4.     Critical Legal Studies Movement (commentary)

        5.     Neo-Institutionalism

    D.    A Philosophical Aphorism:  "Law without politics is elitist and dangerous - politics without law   is tyranny."

Hofeldian Terminology